Grand River (Michigan)

The Grand River in Grand Rapids

Location of Grand River in Michigan

The Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan.

It has a length of 420 km and flows through the cities of Jackson, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven, before it flows into Lake Michigan.

It drains a catchment area of ​​14,431 km ². The Grand River carries an average of 108 m³ / s and has several dams along its run. It is populated but over much of its run of trout and salmon.

Large parts of the river basin are flat and contain many swamps and lakes. Nevertheless, there is between the source and mouth of a height difference of 213 m.

Tributaries are Red Cedar River, Looking Glass River, Maple River, Flat River, Thornapple River and the Rogue River. A river steamer with 500 passenger seats, operated from the flow of Lansing.

Grand Rapids was built in large rapids, which, however, disappeared after the construction of a small dam and later a fish path.

History

Before removing the roads, railways and canals of the river was an important link for the North American Indians, explorers and settlers through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The river was named because of its length, O -wash- ta - nong ( distant water). He also played as a demarcation of territory in the Indian to the United States a role. In 1821, the Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi were, with the exception of several small reserves, all areas south of the river in the Treaty of Chicago from.